ROSEMOUNT, Minn . – Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend refinery has been recognized as a Minnesota Star (MNSTAR) worksite for the second time by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. The award recognizes the company’s commitment to workplace safety.
MNSTAR is a Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration program that recognizes companies in which employees and managers work together to develop safety and health management plans that exceed OSHA standards and prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. Flint Hills first achieved the MNSTAR recognition in 2005.
“We congratulate and are proud to recertify Flint Hills Resources at the STAR level for its continuing commitment to safety and health,” said Steve Sviggum, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry commissioner. “Through the company’s management leadership and employee participation, everyone onsite works together to ensure more workers go home safe and healthy at the end of each day.”
Each year, Flint Hills Resources submits a safety performance evaluation to Minnesota OSHA to ensure that it is making improvements to its safety performance and defining new health and safety goals. This year’s recertification process also involved Minnesota OSHA representatives performing a site hazard inspection, completing a health and safety program audit, and interviewing about 100 employees to evaluate management effectiveness and employee involvement programs.
“We are very pleased to be recognized again by MNSTAR for our commitment to maintaining a safe work environment,” said Scott Lindemann, vice president and manufacturing manager of Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend refinery. “We have an excellent safety program but it’s up to our employees to walk the talk, and they deserve all the credit for putting safety first and helping to create a permanent culture of safety at Flint Hills Resources.”
Flint Hills Resources’ recertification as a MNSTAR site will last five years, when it will undergo another full evaluation. Flint Hills Resources also has OSHA Voluntary Protection Program Star sites in Illinois, Michigan and Texas.
In 2007, CBI Services – a subsidiary of Chicago Bridge & Iron Company that provides construction management services at the Pine Bend refinery – was also recognized as a MNSTAR worksite. CBI Services has had a full-time presence at the Pine Bend refinery since 1987, and was the first resident construction worksite to receive MNSTAR recognition.
About MNSTAR
MNSTAR began in Minnesota in January 1999, and is modeled after the federal OSHA Voluntary Protection Program, which began in 1982. Key elements of the MNSTAR program include: management leadership and employee involvement; an allocation of resources to address safety issues; systems that identify and control workplace hazards; and a plan for employee safety training and education. For more information, visit www.doli.state.mn.us/mnstar.html.
About Flint Hills Resources
Flint Hills Resources, LP is a leading provider of transportation fuels used in the Upper Midwest. Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount, Minn., has a crude oil processing capacity of about 320,000 barrels per day and employs about 850 people full-time. Flint Hills Resources, which is based in Wichita, Kansas, owns and operates refineries and chemical plants in Alaska, Minnesota, Texas, Illinois and Michigan. The company also owns a system of refined products and asphalt terminals that serve Texas and the Midwest. More information about the company is available at www.fhr.com.